Coach Urban Meyer never questioned the effort of the defense during consecutive games against Nebraska and Indiana when Ohio State gave up almost a point a minute. But Meyer said something had to change.

Now, the Buckeyes defense has put together two straight solid games, including a 52-22 win over Illinois yesterday in Ohio Stadium, and the change really began two weekends ago in an overtime win over Purdue.

There never was a serious blip against the Illini. The closest was a penalty for roughing the passer against Nathan Williams that kept the Illini’s only touchdown drive alive in the third quarter. The Buckeyes gave up only one long play, when Illinois’ Ashante Williams picked up an errant pitch from backup quarterback Kenny Guiton and returned it 77 yards for a touchdown.

Otherwise, the defenders spent the game running to the ball and forcing the action, with senior defensive lineman John Simon leading the way. He had only one tackle, a sack, but he was harassing Illinois quarterback Nathan Scheelhaase from the start.

“It’s exciting, because we’ve got guys who have settled into their positions; some guys who were dinged up are back,” Simon said. “It’s going to be awesome to get (linebacker Etienne Sabino, out with a broken bone in his lower leg) back. We’re excited. We’re playing well as a unit, and that’s what defense is all about.”

Linebacker Ryan Shazier, who led the Buckeyes with 14 tackles — pushing his season total to 98 — said Simon, Johnathan Hankins, Garrett Goebel and Williams set the tone. The front four applied most of the pressure against a struggling Illinois offensive line without resorting to blitzes.

“I give all the credit to my D-linemen; I love those guys,” Shazier said. “I tell them every day I really appreciate everything they do for us, because if it weren’t for them, we wouldn’t be able to run around like we do right now.

“So I really appreciate everything Hank, Simon, Garrett Goebel, Nathan Williams, what all the defensive linemen do for us. If it wasn’t for them, this defense wouldn’t be as good as it is right now.”

The Buckeyes limited the Illini to 170 total yards, the fewest for an opponent this year by far. They also limited Illinois to 74 yards rushing, after limiting Penn State to 32. Illinois’ longest run was eight yards, its longest pass 12.

“As a front four, we wanted to bring some pressure,” Simon said. “There were some plays where we definitely could have gotten more pressure, but they’ve got great players on the other side of the ball. … But all in all throughout the day,. I think we got pretty consistent pressure.”